General Information: Images:
Laserbeak: Laserbeak is designed with two large wings that angle back in a claw like fashion with two smaller wings underneath set at a downward angle. This vaguely bird-like design is enhanced by a tail sticking out the back and a head at the very front, which has a face that resembles Soundwave's own with a "screen" serving as his face. The wings have some nice designs on them including layered armor panels and curved lines. Truth be told, this design looks much more bat-like to me, making me think "Ratbat" might have been a more appropriate name - though I wouldn't count that out with a future redeco. Laserbeak is cast in metallic blue plastic, the same shade as Soundwave himself. He has some black parts, particularly on his joints. A bit of black paint is used on his lower wings to provide extra detailing. This is a cute accessory, and it is true to the show. The old fan in me just wishes ol' Laserbeak was something more than just an attachment to Soundwave in this universe.
Vehicle Mode: Soundwave's basic shape comes right form the Reaper Drone. The front section is rounded off and bulb shaped. The center of the body is quite thin leading out to wings that come out the sides at 90 degree angles from the main body. This section then leads to the back/tail area which has to distinct vertical stabilizers sticking up at angles. The thruster at the back has the same cone shape as the Reaper Drone as well. Though there are more details than what I've just described, it can honestly be said that Soundwave's vehicle mode is instantly recognizable even to someone who even just casually follows the news. While Soundwave shares many of the Reaper Drone's features, it takes them and embelishes quite a bit. The front end for instance has a claw like detail on the sides, if attached, Laserbeak's wings give some extra stabilizers and his rear section has several pointed designs including a diamond shaped design in the center flanked by what appear to be claw like designs. True to his G1 roots, Soundwave's primary plastic color is metallic dark blue. Metallic black is used on smaller parts such as his vertical stabilizers and some smaller sections where the wings meet the main body of the vehicle. Painted details are done in violet and black. The violet color is used on small strips on the wings and some small details on the side of the vehicle's front end. The color is really fantastic. It contrasts strongly with the dark blue plastic, giving it a glowing quality that would be lost on brighter plastic. A bit of black paint is also used on the wings to give some details to the edges. This doesn't sound like a lot, but the fact is that Soundwave isn't all that colorful on "Transformers Prime" (either in personality or body) so this works just fine for me. There is a small landing gear piece underneath the front of the vehicle, tucked between Soundwave's feet. Since the hole in the middle section normally accomodates Laserbeak, you could also use it to attach weapons from other toys in the line or even others such as Mech Tech weapons. Overall, I really like Soundwave's vehicle mode. It's appropriate and it's a unique vehicle mode buried in a sea of cars, jets and trucks. Transformation to Robot Mode:
If you want to have some fun, leave the legs connected together and Soundwave winds up looking like Beast Machines Jetstorm!
Robot Mode: Many of the "Transformers Prime" character designs try to work elements of the character's previous incarnations into their design. In the case of Soundwave, there are a couple elements fans will be familiar with from the G1 era:
While nowhere near as obvious a homage as say, Optimus Prime or Wheeljack, I do give the designers credit for incorporating two such iconic elements of the character into an otherwise brand new design. Soundwave's CGI model seems to have been designed to evoke a sense of mystery and fear. His non detailed face is blank most of the time, betraying no emotion or information unless he wants it to. His thin, lithe form looks powerful and he has bested warriors like Airachnid on the show (and she's no slouch). He also has lots of sharp looking angles and pointed sections that give him an evil appearance. All in all, Soundwave is not someone you want to meet in a dark alley! The action figure manages to recreate all these elements very well, from the chest "spikes" to his thin and pointed feet. He even has small, spindly fingers that look like they belong on a bat's wing more than a Decepticon warrior, but this too is consistent with his CGI model. I'm quite impressed with the level of detial and sculpting on what looked to be a very simple figure in vehicle mode. This mode is still primarily dark blue, but a bit more black plastic appears on the arms, the hip joints, knee armor and feet. The metallic black and violet colors are used in this mode as well. The black is used to paint his blank face and bits of armor on his legs. The violet color provides small bits of detail on his legs and on the waist/hip area. Once again calling back to his G1 roots, blue paint is added into the mix in this form, providing paint detail on the inside panels of his arms as well as his chest. The last little touch is a bit of silver on the edges of his central crest. By virtue of his CGI model, the designers really didn't need to put a ton of detail on this figure since he is primarily blue and black in color even on the TV show. All the colors work together very well and I think he looks dark and mysterious, just as he should. Soundwave has twenty six points of articulation in this mode. I was a bit surprised by this as it didn't seem he'd be so articulated from early photos I saw, but all the articulation works very well. I tend to prefer having his feet straightened out to use his knee articulation normally, but the knee joints work the other way as well. What I really had fun with were the arms. Since he has a rather unusual set of joints on his arms thanks to his transformation scheme, you can have his arms positioned in all sorts of ways such as giving a salute, crossing his arms and so on. As mentioned earlier, you can attach Laserbeak to the holes in his wrists, but you can also use these to attach weapons with 5mm pegs. Thanks to the way his arms are designed, they are able to hold up weapons despite how thin they are, most impressive!
Final Thoughts:
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Soundwave is one of the most beloved characters in Transformers lore. After names like Optimus Prime and Megatron, even people who have not followed Transformers in years have a vague recollection of "that guy with tapes in his chest". When the Decepticon roster of "Transformers Prime" was being planned, Soundwave made for natural choice to join Megatron's forces as part of the first wave of Deluxe "Transformers Prime" figures released in 2012.
